Through Those Rainbow Eyes
by Kebire
Summary: Dragons are the creatures that attract us to Pern, but what is the world like through those many faceted eyes? Take a look at Pern from a dragon's point of view.
1. In the Egg

EDITED: Thank you everyone, especially Astrokath, who pointed out mistakes.

A/N

Okay, so you've probably read more than a few Pern stories from the rider's point of view, but is it not those gigantic flying beasts that made you want to pick up _Dragonflight_ in the first place? If you ask me, people are focusing more and more on the riders, and less and less on the dragons.

But now I realise that I will not be satisfied until I read a story that _stars_ the dragon, not just as the human character's friend and mount, but as the main hero of the story. But alas, if such a piece of writing has been penned, I have yet to find it. So what do I do? Well, first I mope around angrily for a few weeks, and then when the school holidays come around, I get of my butt and start writing!

I do not own the Dragonriders of Pern, the planet its self, thread, the dragons, the firelizards- ah, you get the point. They all belong to Ms. Anne McCaffery, and now her son Todd McCaffery. I am but a humble reader of the series.

-----------------------------------------------------------

**Chapter 1**

_A few days before the hatching_

Though the hot sand physically warmed her, the unborn dragonet felt empty and cold in her recently formed heart. The smooth, curved walls that confined her seemed to grow smaller by the hour, and soon she feared that she would run out of room and suffocate.

She knew not what she was, nor why she was being kept here- she was terrified, fearing for the life that she was only half-aware that she had.

She had a colour now- she didn't notice this, of course, it was much too dark, but her leathery hide had changed from an almost white shade to a wonderful, healthy forest green.

Had the young green known of time, she would have known that it was a few days ago that she had started breathing, though for all she knew, it could have been half a century since then.

The dragonet wanted to be free. She didn't like it in here. It was dark and scary and it made her feel so alone. She didn't know that she had a mother, who was only a quarter of a dragonlength away, but it wasn't her mother's company that she wanted, anyway. Who else could she want?

More than once, the green had tried to break the shell of the place that she would later come to realise was her egg, but every time she failed to so much as make a crack. And she was so _sleepy_, always sleepy. After every attempt, the green would close her eyes, which had so recently been non-existent, and fall back into slumber. And even when she didn't try to escape, the mere act of lying there, growing, exhausted her. Come to think of it, even now…

She was getting kind of…

Slee…

Sleepy…

-----------------------------------------------------------

Her eyes flew open as another sharp prickle went through her gums. By now, growing had exhausted her so much that she didn't even have the energy to flinch in pain. However, the teething was forbidding her to sleep, the small triangular fangs constantly pushing their way through her tormented gums. Oh well, she was awake now- she might as well try and figure out what was going on outside.

Her hearing was nothing compared to what it would be once she was an adult, but if she strained her ear flaps, the yet-to-be named dragon could pick up some of the activity outside.

For a while, all there was to listen to was the sound of something making loud crooning noises. Loving noises. The noises were not for her. A flash of jealousy went through her, an alien emotion. She quickly tuned out to the sound and concentrated on the tiny pangs of pain originating from her gums, her eyes turning slightly red. She had no way of knowing it, but the noises came from her mother, admiring the egg that her golden daughter would soon spring from. But she didn't know that she had a mother- she didn't know that she had siblings. All she knew was that someone was getting loving attention, and that it wasn't her.

But an embryonic dragon had a very short memory span, and the jealously was soon forgotten. It was replaced with curiosity for the sounds of sandals crunching on the sand, and the occasional nervous giggle of a creature that the green knew nothing of. Though they were new to her, she felt a sudden rush of love towards these beasts, and the dragon knew- _knew_ that one of them was for her, all for her and no one else. Hers would love her, and her only, never leaving her side. She made a final half-hearted attempt to break away from whatever prison held her, but naturally, it didn't work.

A loud, harsh voice barked at them. This voice sounded too deep to belong to the potential mines, too old. It was the voice of an adult human- and the green didn't know how, but she suddenly knew that he was a rider, a human who belonged to a dragon- a blue, to be exact. Named Ranioth. She honestly didn't care though. He was not hers. He was someone else's.

"Okay candidates, gather 'round. Don't go near the eggs until I say so, especially not the golden one, unless you're willing to face the wrath of Tulith there." Who was Tulith? Golden egg? What egg? Was she in one of these 'eggs'? Was her 'egg' golden?

"Now, don't you try and pick any of them up, because the Weyrwoman and I will be watching, and you won't like the consequences if we catch you. You'll also disrupt the hatchling and probably do severe damage to your back. Just walk over to them and stroke them. Be careful. The shells get harder near their hatching day, but if you hit them you'll awaken the embryo. Gold candidates, follow me- you'll need the Weyrwoman's help to get passed Tulith here." There was a shuffling of feet, and some of the potential lifemates approached the green's egg.

"Is it a blue?" A male voice asked hopefully.

"Probably not," a female voice replied. "Almost defiantly a green." _Green_, thought the embryo with amazment, for she had been unable to see the colour of her hide through the darkness.

"Are you sure?" The male asked again, tapping the dragon's eggshell.

She wanted to tell him to stop making those noises, but of course, she couldn't.

"Syler! Stop that immediately, you will aggravate the hatchling!" The boy named Syler shuffled off, grumbling.

"So you're certain it's a green?" Another male voice asked. This one was deeper, kinder.

"Y- yes," Stuttered the female. "It still could be a blue, of course, there's no way to be certain…" The boy laughed quietly.

"You've been here for three clutches, Syetta, and you've never been wrong about an egg before." The green was annoyed, wishing they would stop talking about the girl and resume paying attention to her.

"Well- yeah… but I still haven't impressed, have I?"

"Ah, your dragon, like mine, just hasn't hatched yet."

"Thanks, Roaniax." The green's eyes turned blue inside the eggshell. Then her last growing tooth gave a final push and they quickly became tainted with red.

((For the record, this is how I make my names: I randomly stab at the keyboard until I make up a name that sounds good. -Grins- If there are any mistakes with the dragon embryo's development, and I'm certain there are, I apologise.))


	2. Hatching

A/N: Two updates in one day? What kind of author am I? But hey, this story is so fun to write! Take the –th off the dragon's name and you get my favourite art style.

I do not own the Dragonriders of Pern. Anne McCaffery and her son Todd do. However, I'd like to remind the McCafferys that Christmas _is_ coming up… -cough cough-

-----------------------------------

Some could say that unborn creatures don't dream. For dragons at least, this is untrue. The green dragonet was floating in a sea of rapidly moving, pastel colored clouds. She wasn't stirring, just hovering there, hypnotised by the swirling movements of the mist, more relaxed than she had ever been in her – well, it really couldn't be called 'life', because technically she wasn't considered alive until she broke through the shell of her egg.

The green soared through a clump of baby blue coloured haze, scattering the gas in all directions. Looping in the air, she settled down to float once more, closing her eyes. A word formed in her head. It belonged to her, suited her. It was what people would call her by, the word people would think of when she was gone. It was a name. Animeth. She was the green Animeth, ridden by- ridden by…

Her currently blue eyes snapped open. She didn't have a rider. Hers would be her rider, but hers wasn't in Animeth's prison. She needed a rider- she had to have a rider!

Animeth awoke, once again in her eggshell. Something- many somethings- were humming outside. She began to hum too. The need to find a lifemate resurfaced, stronger this time, mixed with unexplained anger. She wanted a lifemate, and she'd get one, dammit!

Animeth flung herself as hard as she could against the walls of the egg, practically snarling. Fury, impatience, determination. Mixed with adrenalin they coursed through her veins along with her green ichor, sending her eyes red with fury. She could feel the shell begin to give way under her weight-

Animeth burst into the world, her eggshell shattering into pieces. She swerved around, the rage subsiding but the need to find a lifemate not. She had been amongst the first to hatch- a bronze and a brown had already found their lifemates, and a rather lost looking blue was stumbling from his prison's remains awkwardly. There were more of her kin, noted the small part of Animeth that was not dedicated to finding a partner.

Eggs were hatching everywhere Animeth turned, their former occupants screaming with confusion and the need to impress. Scared, Animeth began to back away… towards her mother, towards the gold candidates, towards the golden egg.

Three things happened at once. Tulith seemed to believe that Animeth was getting too close to her golden daughter, and grumbled a warning. Three of the candidates jumped out of Animeth's way, perhaps worried that she would impress to them before they had a chance at the golden queen. The giant egg seemed to explode in a shower of glistening shards, and a proud looking queen hatchling stepped forward, shrieking her challenge to the candidates.

Five girls stepped forward, one glaring at a terrified Animeth, almost pushing her out of the way. The Weyr's newest gold roared, seeming to reject the majority of her candidates, if not all of them. She hissed, perhaps as confused as Animeth but not wishing to show it, and slashed out with her front paw.

One girl hit the ground, screaming. A deep gouge mark now marred the flesh of her leg. The girl obviously didn't handle pain very well, screaming bloody murder in between sobs as crimson liquid bled onto the sands.

She queen ran forward, still searching for a lifemate in a rather bloody fashion. She slashed at another three girls and was about to attack a fourth when Animeth, who was convinced that the queen's would-be victim was her lifemate, stepped in front of her, pleading with the other hatchling using a wide variety of raspy, hiss-like noises- Animeth payed for this with a sharp slash across the snout.

The queen's mother managed to calm her down shortly after that, and the baby gold eventually walked up to one of the girls, ironically one of those that she had injured. After a short telepathic conversation, the girl happily announced that her new life-mate's name was Inueth.

Though Animeth's attempt at calming her sister did not work very well, and the blonde-haired girl had _not_ been for her, the green's apparently random act of bravery had earned her popularity. The large, forest green dragonet was now surrounded by hopefuls, eager to impress the dragon who could stand up against a queen. But ah, most of the candidates had already impressed! A dazed Animeth quickly shook herself from her bewilderment, ignoring the pain of her injury. The chaos was over. She could get back to more important matters now- like finding her lifemate.

Animeth surveyed the growing crowd. She was in a hurry. There was an odd feeling in her stomach, a feeling that almost hurt. After a minute Animeth realised that she was hungry, for the first time in her life.

Telepathy was wonderful. Thanks to telepathy, a dragon could find a lifemate who was perfect for them, who would love them forever and never reject them. Unfortunately, Animeth had limited choices, with most of the candidates either impressed or injured and being taken to the infirmary.

In the end, Animeth found three such people in the crowd- two girls and one boy.

One was a tall, copper skinned girl. She looked like she was a nice enough person, but Animeth could tell she was only here due to parental pressure.

Next there was a sunburnt woman in her early twenties, barely young enough to impress. She didn't really seem to want a dragon, and the affectionate thoughts she was attempting to broadcast to Animeth came out feeling fake and forced. It was obvious she was just interested in getting away from boring holder life.

The boy- a short, fifteen-turn-old lad- was quite eager to impress to Animeth. He was small-stature with black hair and lots of confidence. He would be a good lifemate, Animeth supposed, but she just didn't feel it would be right for her to impress to him.

Animeth gave a dragon-like sigh. All the other girls had been impressed by the greens whilst she was defending that girl from the angry gold.

Someone tore into the hatching grounds. She was panting, her shoulder-length hair a jet black mess. Brown eyes glanced apologetically to those in the stands, her face beet red with both exhaustion and embarrassment.

"Sorry," she mumbled, passing through the crowd. The candidate master just sighed and said,

"They're almost all gone, Syetta, I'm sorry but-" As the green's gaze focused on the latecomer, her eyes flashed purple, then began to shine in a fantastic display of colors, as though a wing of dragons were flying around inside them. She ran towards the wonderful girl, feeling as though nothing in the world could separate them now.

_You belong to Animeth now, Syetta!_

TBC

((I've got to admit, that ending line makes me smile.))


	3. Ichor Tainted Plans and Buckets of Meat

**Chapter 3- Ichor-Tainted Plans and Buckets of Meat**

A/N: I apologise for the lateness of this chapter. And I'll try and dumb Animeth down a little, too.

**Disclaimer**: I am a school girl who enjoys reading and watching anime. Anne McCaffery is an adult who breeds horses and is a published author. See the difference? Wilqua Weyr was made up by me. The concept of weyrs was not.

-------------------------------

It was not that Eion hated dragons, but a man had to make enough marks to see him through the turn, and this job would see him through the next several. True, he did hold a grudge against the beasts for rejecting him when he had been a young man, but he hadn't agreed to do this because of resentment. Or so he told himself. Oh yes, he was quite aware that what he was going to do was a horrible, immoral deed, but it payed well, and Eion was a greedy being.

The Lord Holder of Wilqua Hold, which was positioned in the territory of Wilqua Weyr, was growing impatient with the dragon riders. Thread was gone, for now- it had been gone for thirty seven turns and wouldn't come back for another one hundred and sixty three. There was no need for such a large dragon population, yet the weyr still had two fertile queens laying eggs as if the threads were falling all day, every day. In reality they were already laying clutches of a suitable size for an interval, but Lord Holder Visonan didn't see it that way.

How many able-bodied lads and lasses had his hold lost to those miserable beasts? How much of their profits had been tithed to the weyr, which still mumbled and groaned about how uncooperative he was during searches?

So Visonan had thought up a plan, to lower the dragon population without sending any riders into an abyss of madness, and Eion was going to help him.

Oh yes, the next clutching would be very interesting indeed.

-------------------------------

Animeth trailed after Syetta as they marched towards her first meal, her head and tail held high. She felt so very proud of herself for finding her lifemate in one of the candidates- _not just_ any_ candidate,_ she thought, _the best candidate to step onto the sands since Moreta!_ _Whoever she was._ Animeth had found the name in Syetta's head, and it was the name of an important dragonrider. She could have found out why, but she couldn't really be bothered.

_Mine, _Animeth called for the fifth time since their impression. _Have I told you that I'm hungry yet? It's just that my insides are empty and I need to fill them... _hers seemed to be in some kind of daze, her mind still processing the fact that she had finally impressed, and that Animeth wasn't some part of a wonderful dream. She managed to shake off the post-hatching haze and relied,

"We just have to catch up to the other candida- uh, weyrlings… and then you'll get your meat, Anim." Animeth snorted.

_I'm Animeth, thank you. _Not even hers had permission to call her such an undignified name. Syetta managed a weak laugh.

"Are you sure you aren't a tiny green queen?" She joked. Animeth sniffed, unsure if she should be humbled or annoyed. Eventually they arrived at where the hatchlings were being fed, and Animeth practically dragged Syetta to the nearest bucket of meat.

"Hey, Animeth, afterwards would you like to meet my family?" Syetta was still getting used to talking to her dragon through her mind.

_Eat now, _she replied. _Talk later. Feed me. _Animeth ate as much meat as Syetta would let her have, and she would have eaten more if Syetta hadn't been mean and taken the bucket away.

_But mine! _Animeth cried telepathically. _My insides are-_

_All but bursting with all the meat you've eaten. _Syetta responded, finally attempting mind-speech. Animeth grunted and a couple of orangey-red flecks appeared on her faceted eyes, before fading into the otherwise completely blue oculars.

"Come on, weyrlings!" The voice of an adult human shouted. "Your possessions have been moved to the weyrling barracks, so move out, now! Some of these dragons look like they could pass out on their feet. Paws." The man, or the 'Weyrling Master' as Syetta had called him, trudged off towards the north, and Syetta and the other weyrlings followed him, beckoning to their dragons to follow.

_I'm not sleepy!_ A persistent blue whined. Of course, Syetta couldn't hear his pleading, only having access to her own dragon's thoughts. _Mine, let me stay up! Mine, let me. Please mine?_ The boy, some turns older than Animeth's own lifemate, shook his head and gestured for his young dragon to follow him. The blue looked disappointed but followed the lad.

_I'm _not_ sleepy._ He repeated, yawning.

Animeth, however, was quite eager to curl up and fall asleep. She trotted after Syetta, but briefly stopped to examine her clutch mates.

The remaining dragons who had not already been dragged off to bed were Naruth, a confidant looking bronze, Trixeth, a dainty looking green, Ratoth, a brown with a slightly stuck-up look of him, and the stubborn blue, Shippith, who was almost out of sight.

_Come on, Animeth! You need your sleep! _Animeth trotted after hers, wishing she'd caught up with Inueth, the golden hatchling that had given her the scratch on her nose, which had been numbed shortly after her impression to Syetta.

The stone couch didn't look half as comfortable as Syetta's cot, but the young dragonet seated herself on it anyway.

"It doesn't look like you'll meet my family today, Ani, maybe some other time."

_Animeth._ The hatchling insisted. _Only Animeth._ Syetta giggled and seated herself next to Animeth, who would be stuck with the nickname, 'little green midget queen' for quite some time. Eventually, Animeth closed her eyes and was just drifting off when she felt Syetta moving away, towards the door. Animeth's eyes snapped open and whirled with confusion.

_Mine, where are you going! Did I do something wrong? Who is making you leave?_ Animeth got ready to leap of the couch when Syetta clambered back towards her couch, shaking her head and saying,

_No, no. I'm just going down to the Hatching Feat, that's all. I'll be back later, but you need to sleep._

_You'll be back?_

_Yes._

_Stay here until I fall asleep._

_Okay, Ani._

_Animeth._


	4. Frightening Encounters

**Chapter Four- Frightening Encounters**

A/N I've never gotten so many reviews before. Not for all my previous stories put together. I- I… -Falls unconscious-

**Disclaimer:** Unless Anne McCaffery randomly walks into my house and declares me the official owner of the Dragonriders of Pern books, I'll never own the rights to them. I own a little plastic green dragon named Kealeth though. XP

-------------------------------

Animeth didn't see her golden sister until oiling time the next day. Though she had not been expecting an apology, the forest-hued dragon was confused when Inueth didn't even seem to notice the injury she had caused the previous day.

_It's only natural that she would think herself above us,_ an older dragonet had said as his weyrling looked for any unoiled spots on his brown hide. _She is golden, she is special. Inueth would not bother herself to remember whom she hurt the day before._

_I am special too!_ Animeth had cried. _Mine says so. Muth_ (The weyrling master's dragon) _says so as well. Weyrs need greens! We are an important part of fighting thread!_

_It is an interval. No thread falls. _The brown then proceeded to fix his attention on his lifemate, completely ignoring the little green whom believed she was as important as a gold. Such foolishness!

But a dragon's memory was a short-lived thing, and by the time Syetta had lead her to the weyrling barracks for the morning nap, she had forgotten all about the conversation between the brown and herself. Even the memory of what had caused the injury on her snout was fading.

_Hey, Animeth?_ That was Syetta. Shouldn't she be getting to their weyrling classes now? Animeth didn't like Syetta leaving, but she had insisted that she had too. For classes, so that she would know how to take proper care of her Animeth.

Animeth opened her eyes sleepily, and regarded a curious looking Syetta with sleepy, slowly whirling blue eyes.

_Where did you get that scar on your snout?_ Animeth blinked drowsily and skimmed through her memories. Green dragons didn't have very good memory to begin with, and Animeth was so young. If she hadn't been thinking so much about it that morning, she would have forgotten all together by now.

_Inueth did it._

_What? The gold? Why?_

_I was in the way._ Why did Syetta look so shocked? Newly hatched golds were often confused to the point of violence, Syetta had been told that. Why did she think their fury would only be directed at humans? Never mind, thought Animeth. Now she knew, and it was time for sleep. Sleep was always good.

-------------------------------

Animeth awoke with a grunt. Someone had jolted her from her sleep with a curse.

"Shards and shells! Those damned chests! My toe! I thought weyrlings were supposed to be _neat_!" Animeth bared her teeth, eyes whirling orange. There was someone in the other room!

_Mine!_ She called. _Intruders in the barracks!_ For a brief, frightening moment, there was no answer, but then there came a reply.

_They're probably only drudges, Ani. Uh, Animeth. Or assistant weyrling masters. Go back to sleep. _Animeth couldn't.

"You do it!" These men didn't belong here. They were wrong! She looked around, but none of the other dragons had awakened from their slumber. Her muscles tensed under her hide. She must stay alert.

"Just hurry up and write it. Have you any idea what trouble we'll be in if we're discovered? I spent too much money bribing that drudge to let us in for you to mess up now!"

"I don't want to cut my finger! You do it!"

"Gladly. Dimglow." A pause, and a coppery, salty scent, like that of the blood that had came from the wounds of Inueth's human victims yesterday.

"Gah! I meant you write it!"

"To late now, just write the sharding message." There was a brief period of silence, and then,

"Hey, won't this mean that they'll tighten security? How are we going to carry out part B, Eion?" The one named Eion hissed.

"Not so loud! There are dragonets in the next room, you know. If you're too loud you'll wake one up. We'll have to kill it, and we might not be able to do so before it calls the whole sharding weyr!" Animeth flattened her body onto the couch, quivering. They were in the next room. They couldn't see her. But Animeth was too scared to hold onto logic. She needed her lifemate, now, before she went _between_ with fear!

_Mine!_ She hissed.

_What is it, Animeth?_ Replied Syetta, her tone that of someone who was annoyed.

_These are not drudges! They talk of death! Mine, I need you! They will kill me if they see me! _For a brief moment she felt chilling fear come from the other end of the mind link, but it was quickly smothered.

_Stay where you are, don't let them see you. Are any of the other dragons awake?_

_No. They sleep like logs. Mine, I am scared. Please come now!_

_I will, and I'll bring others. Stay where you are. If any of the other dragons wake up, tell them to stay quiet. I won't let him hurt you, Animeth. Just stay still._

"It's done. Let's go." Eion whispered. There was the sound of footsteps, and then there was silence. Too terrified to send another message to Syetta, Animeth curled up into a tighter ball.

-------------------------------

More footsteps. At first, Animeth thought that the men were back, but then, at last, she heard Syetta's voice.

_Animeth, are you alright? The other dragonets? We're just outside. _

_They did not come inside here. They were in the other room._

_The male weyrling barracks?_

_No, the room that joins it to ours. They- said that they wrote something on the wall. And there was blood._ Outside, there was a flurry of movent, and Animeth flinched. That was it! She was too scared. She was going to the dark place. There were no men there. Suddenly, a deep yet draconically feminine voice reached out to her. It was her mother, Tulith.

_Be calm. Yours and Mine are outside, the men are gone. _Animeth breathed deeply, her eyes white and whirling. She calmed down enough to hear Syetta's voice again.

_Animeth! I'm just outside the female candidate barracks. I'm coming in._ All the commotion outside had roused the other hatchlings from their sleep. They communicated with their lifemates, confused at all the sound and the panicked green that was lying on her couch, curled up in a tight ball, shivering.

Syetta, the weyrling master and a dragonhealer marched into the room, the adults looking grim and Syetta looking simply frightened. She ran to Animeth and wrapped her arms around the dragon's shoulders.

"What happened?"


	5. Control Your Queens

**Chapter 5- Control Your Queens**

**A/N:** A hard chapter to write, this one, and I don't feel that it's as good as the others. I like writing Tulith though.

**Disclaimer:** If ever I claim to own the Dragonriders of Pern, which is actually owned by Anne McCaffery, may my flesh be torn off by a wher, my bones be devoured by thread and anything that might be left over urinated on by fire-lizards.

-------------------------------

**CONTROL YOUR QUEENS**

The bolded letters were written in crimson liquid, tattooed to the left size of the main room of the weyrling barracks.

"Sharding bastards must have written it here because they knew it would have disturbed the weyrlings the most." Weyrwoman Halliuna muttered. Her dragon, Tulith didn't reply, being too busy comforting the poor little hatchling that had heard the writers of the message converse. Tulith hadn't been able to coax the dragon into repeating the intruder's words, and they would probably have to get her lifemate to do it.

"This is a disaster." Weyrleader Ta'run sighed. His bronze dragon, Nith, was making sure that all the dragonets, particularly one ones from his first and only clutch, were all right. The Weyrling Master's dragon had already done so, but Nith wouldn't be satisfied until he could confirm it himself.

Gold Tulith was furious. She wanted to claw who ever had scared her daughter so into mince meat and feed it to the wherries. And then set the wherries on fire. Luckily for them, the great beast was unable to hurt humans- that didn't mean she couldn't think about it though.

_How did they do this?_ Tulith asked her rider with a hiss. _How did they get into the weyr? Into the barracks?_

_I'm guessing they bribed the drudges to distract the watchriders and let them in._ Replied Halliuna angrily. _If ever I find out who those traitors are…_

_You must calm down. The hatchlings are scared… as am I. Control your queens… what do they mean? Are they threatening Inueth, Abrenoth and I?_ Inueth and Aberoth were the other golds of the weyr, and Inueth was Tulith's daughter. Aberoth was a young but mature gold that had transferred in from another weyr- she was due to rise at any time now. Wait- did they mean…

Surely- surely they didn't want them to stop Aberoth from rising!

Meanwhile, Syetta had finally waded her way through the crowd of weyrlings, and was trying to soothe Animeth from her terrified state.

_Animeth? Animeth, I'm here. Come on, open your eyes. _

_Mine?_ Animeth's shaky voice replied. She removed her paw from her eyes and opened them, slowly, ready to snap them shut again should she see the need to.

_I was scared. They were talking about killing any dragon that they saw moving and they wrote something on the wall. I was so scared, I was about to go to… to the dark place._ Animeth riffled through Syetta's mind, looking for a name for the abyss that she was only half-aware existed. Syetta answered for her, though.

Between? She replied fearfully. The dragon sent a wave of confirmation, and Syetta flinched.

_Never go there. If you do, you won't come back. _Still shaking, the Animeth inclined her green head.

From the other side of the room, Tulith watched them, her eyes whirling a violent red.

Animeth, along with the other dragons, was completely unharmed. She was shaken, but there was no lasting damage. The trauma of the event would fade rapidly, because of her draconic memory.

But the writing! People didn't go around leaving threatening messages in blood as a practical joke. And if they did, it was the sickest, most revolting joke that Tulith had ever heard of. Her poor daughter! Animeth would be okay, she was sure. The green would be fine, because Tulith said so, and everything had to obey_ her_. But what if, next time, they physically hurt one of the dragons of her weyr?

She would make sure hers found out who had done this. Then she would convince hers to throw them into a pit of starving whers. Yes, that was best. Being eaten alive didn't seem like a painful enough death for such monsters, but Tulith had always thought herself a very merciful queen dragon.

_Guards._ Tulith hissed to Halliuna. _We need more guards. I want every bronze, brown, blue and green, every available rider, out here defending my hatchlings._

_And Aberoth's clutch, when the time comes._ Her rider added. _She and her eggs are in the greatest danger. But we can't have every dragon and rider in the weyr out here, 'Lith. They have other duties._

Dragons_ are their greatest duty._ Halliuna sighed, and said, to both the weyrleader and Tulith,

"We will hire none-rider guards to watch over the hatchlings. When Aberoth clutches, we will make sure there are twice as many bronzes looking after the eggs." Tulith snorted. She didn't like sharing her bronzes with anyone, for anything, but if it was necessary, she would live with it. Aberoth's eggs would rest in her weyr, and as she saw the weyr and everything in it as hers, they were partially her eggs too.

-------------------------------

Eion knew that his name was probably still in the records somewhere, under a list of candidates that had failed to impress a dragon by the age of twenty-one, so he had taken the false name of Eiok for his new job- as a guard for Wilqua Weyr. Creating a false background had been easy when he had a Lord Holder on his side.

That idiot Klaun had woken up a dragon hatchling on the night of the break-in, but at least it had given him an excuse to kill the dimglow. Just like Eion wished he could kill the dragons of this weyr, but his employer, Lord Vistonan, had been insistent that he should not kill any impressed dragons, as it would likely result in a string of suicides from the former riders.

_But I'll still kill the egg-dragons._ He thought, sniggering. A few other guards who were unpacking glanced at him briefly, but soon returned to their own business. _I only wish it could be done with a knife, so I could see all that lovely ichor leaking from their wounds… especially the greens… _Greens. He hated green dragons even more than he hated golds and bronzes. A green had ruined his last chance at impressing, on the last hatching that he would be young enough to stand for.

Ten turns ago, a green dragon hatchling had chosen to go _between_ when faced with the choice of either impressing to him or death. It had hurt so badly, to see that small, slightly sickly-looking creature glance around wildly at the others, then for her to finally turn around, set her sun-like eyes on him…

And then for her to keen sadly, jump _between_ and leave him forever.

He had been shattered, broken and left with nothing but hatred for both himself and the dragons. He had tried to attack one of the weyrling greens the next day, but her rider had tripped him and almost killed him by crushing his neck, but the other weyrlings, whom he had called his fellow candidates the previous day, had pulled him off him. They had glared at Eion, though, glared at him as though he was worse than a tunnelsnake.

He supposed he was, but this tunnelsnake was about to get the revenge he deserved.


	6. Those Sharding Dragons

**Chapter 6- Those Sharding Dragons**

**A/N: **Pretty damn happy about this chapter, even if the plot is so evil it makes me hate myself.  
**Edit:** Okay, so I made Inueth less mean, but I liked it better the way it was before. I didn't even think she really was that bad- just childish.

**Disclaimer**: Anne McCaffery wrote the Drgaonriders of Pern books. She owns them. I don't.

* * *

Tulith had been right- long days passed, day where Animeth was afraid to be left alone, and always needed a human or another dragonet near by. But, by the end of the sevenday, the trauma of that horrible morning had faded, for Animeth at least. It was a major event in her life, and Syetta wouldn't forget it as easily, so she would always remember that it had happened, but the hatchling ceased begging Syetta not to leave her alone in the barracks.

Finally, the clutchmates reached their second month of training. It was the afternoon, and Syetta had just finished the afternoon lecture. When she had the other weyrlings came to collect their dragons after the midday meal, Animeth was confused. Shouldn't Syetta be learning about draconic anatomy right now?

"Come on, Animeth." Syetta said, prodding the green gently on the foreleg. "You have to come to training with me this afternoon." Animeth rose to her paws, stretched, and followed Syetta out the door. She didn't care where they were going; as long as she was going to do something other than sit around for candlemarks on end.

As Animeth passed though the entrance of the barracks, she noted the guards that stood on each end of the door and shuddered. She had a hatchling's memory, yes, but she still remembered why those men were there.

The dragonpair walked out to the lake where the other weyrlings were assembled. Animeth and Syetta took their place, waiting for the last few duos to arrive. Once blue Miniralth had seated himself on the ground next to bronze Kiliminth, the weyrlingmaster began his discourse.

"As you weyrlings know, the dragonets are now too old to spend their days doing naught but sleeping, eating and bathing. They have more energy, so they will no longer tire straight after meals. Today, dragonets, you begin your swimming lessons." Dragons and riders exchanged glances. Most of the bronze riders cheered. Some of the brown riders smiled. The blue riders looked worried and the green riders exploded into exited chatter.

"Quiet! Quiet. Now, like most animals, dragons will already have the basic instinct to swim, but the amount of time that they can keep afloat is limited, especially for the smaller colours." Kiliminth seemed to sneer mockingly in Mineralth's direction. The blue gave him a stern look.

"Because of this, Assistant Candidate Master P'mil and his dragon Limth-" He gestured to a lazy looking green dragonpair- "will be making sure that your dragonets stay in the shallow end of the lake for now, until they get used to the water. As for us, we begin to memorise the basic wing patterns of…" Animeth had no use for that knowledge- not yet, at least. Let Syetta remember it. With an exited glance at her rider, Animeth moved to follow the crowd of hides lumbering after the adult human and his lifemate.

The weather was perfect for swimming, hot, yet not unbearably so. Animeth waded into the water until she could feel its surface against her belly. This was as far as any dragonet was allowed to go that day. Unfortunately, the male dragons and queen Inueth were bigger than Animeth by quite an amount, and they went as far as Limth would allow them to. The green was left with only the others of her colour to socialise with.

_I saw one of the wings preforming a drill this morning._ Ratoth giggled. The flirty nature of greens was already showing in her. _You should have seen those blues fly! But those bronzes were enormous, lots, lots bigger than Kiliminth, and he's the biggest bronze in out clutch!_

_No,_ Kurith snorted. _Albath is. He makes Kiliminth look like a sport! _

_Don't be silly. Albath is a fire-lizard next to Kiliminth!_

_Albath!_

_Kiliminth!_

_Albath!_

_Kiliminth!_

_Albath!_

Her eyes dull with boredom, Animeth waded away from the emerald crowd. She had yet to find interest in conversations such as these.

Finding a spot in the lake where the sun shone brightest, Animeth stretched and sat, the water coming up to her chest. _This is good,_ she decided. _This is good._

_That spot is_ mine!An authoritative, regal voice chirped. Animeth's head spun to inspect the offender, the one who had interrupted such a peaceful moment.

_It is mine!_ The voice repeated. _For I am Inueth the golden, queen of this clutch. _Draconic nature told Animeth to bow her head and remove herself from the sunny spot immediately, but something deep inside of her rebelled. Politely she replied,

_But Inueth, how can this spot be yours? You have never been to this part of the lake before. _

_It is mine because the lake is._ The little queen snapped, annoying Animeth greatly.The only thing that was stopping her from launching herself at Inueth was the knowledge that she was a gold, and Animeth must be polite, lest she make an enemy of the graceful creature.

However, so great was her rage that it even affected Syetta, whom dropped what she had been holding and asked Animeth if she was alright. She went unanswered.

Animeth stared at Inueth coldly. She trotted off before her sister called the bronzes over, and kept walking until Limth's voice told her,

_That is too far, little one. Go back. _She then realised that she had kept going until the water was almost up to the base of her neck.

A candlemark or so later, when the human weyrlings had finished their wing analysis and the dragonets were shaking the water off her hides, an odd feeling came over the group. It didn't affect the dragons as much as it did their partners, who began to wince and struggle to smother the strong emotions that were being broadcasted to them from an unknown source.

_Animeth! _Syetta cried. _P'mil says that queen Aberoth is about to rise. We must get as far away from the feeding ground as possible!_ The group were lead far away from where Aberoth was, now fully awake and beginning to blood her kills. If the humans were infected by the flight's effects, it would mean the end of their dragons.

Aberoth roared, and tossed her head.

* * *

Quite a long way away from the weyr, the Lord Holder of Wilqua Hold was pouring over a list of what the weyr was demanding for their next tithe.

"Faranth blast it!" He bellowed loudly. "Blast the weyr, blast thread, blast the dragons, blast the shard-damned hatchings! The weyr _cannot_ need that many herdbeasts!"

Punching his desk, Lord Vistonian paced around the room angrily, not caring that he had scraped the skin off his knuckles. He hadn't minded paying the tithes whilst thread still fell from the heavens, when full wings of dragons were needed, but now that the last strand of the deadly substance had been well and truly charred some thirty-odd turns ago, now that the ghastly beasts wouldn't be needed for a long, long time, what was the _point_ in having so many of them?

The man seated himself once more, pouting like an angry child. To the public eye, Lord Vistonian was a well mannered gentleman- when by himself, he was… not. _Never mind,_ he thought._ I'm certain that the weyr will limit the amount of times that the dragons are allowed to produce eggs_ (How they would do that he didn't know, nor did he care) _after my plan had run its course._ Perhaps they could avoid the unpleasantness of his plot altogether, if they heeded his wisdom and stopped that junior queen- what was its name again, Abieth or something- from clutching.

Snorting, he returned to his burdens. He was just about finished when something small and brown _betweened_ into his room, scattering the hidework everywhere. Vistonian recognised it as Eion's fire-lizard, Wherry, by the long-healed slashes along his side that had been caused at his hatching by the creatures he was named after. Only because Eion had killed the avians before they could deliver the death blow was the tiresome creature alive.

As soon as his presence was noted, Wherry sent Vistonian an image of a gold in flight, her bronze admirers close in pursuit. Vistonian's brow furrowed in disapproval. He could never guess how they could let those things_ mate_ where their children could see them!

Sighing, he realised that those dragon-loving fools had ignored his warning and would probably let their dragon-bitch clutch. He crossed the room, instructing the brown to stay where he was, (Though it would be a small miracle if he actually obeyed) and took from his cupboard a large bottle of Ashroot Juice. It was a revolting mixture, looking rather like tar, which gave of no smell and seeped quickly into any porous surfaces- skin, hide and such, giving the beast that it contaminated a bad dose of nausea, making them dizzy and delirious. It was an awful poison, but its effects subsided into a faint headache after about a quarter of a candlemark. This mix was diluted, weak enough to cause no permanent damage to a dragonet, or even a fire lizard, if it was applied to the shell soon enough to hatching.

He could just kill them. Give Eion a toxin that slaughtered the dragon in cold ichor and he'd use it on every eggshell there, no remorse, no mercy. He'd probably poison the pregnant queen if he asked him to. But Vistonian had convinced him to obey his rules, for his plan would give him- both of them, an even sweeter revenge- the chance to watch as the queen and her lifemate, the Weyrleader and the Weyrwoman, the riders and the candidates, were disgraced, as each of the dragonets stumbled out onto the sands and appeared to be dying- and they would watch, watch and know that the hatchlings would have been fine had they been given a few minutes to shake off the sickness. But no candidate would go near a dying dragon, or even one that had been ill a short while ago.

This was evil. This was twisted.

This was the price to pay when you pissed off Lord Vistonian.


	7. Animeth Wanders

**Chapter 7- Animeth Wanders**

**A/N: **Please… don't kill me for the lateness… I kept trying to write this chapter with another dragon as the temporary main character, but it didn't work. I just gave up. Don't worry, you aren't missing out on anything that great.

Anyway, I'm thinking of renaming the story. Just a heads up so that you guys don't get confused.

**Disclaimer: **The concept of the Dragonriders of Pern belongs to Anne McCaffery.

-

Days had passed since Aberoth's flight, and the weyr was preparing to welcome the new hatchlings into the world. The golden queen was being pampered by her bronze devotees- particularly by her highly overprotective mate, Herinth- new candidates were being brought in, and, of course, a large amount of guards were being hired to keep Aberoth- and her clutch, when it came- safe. Just in case.

_Two clutches so close together, Ani, how often can that happen?_ Animeth had found that Syetta became extremely blissful and talkative whenever some new dragons were on the way. The whole concept was quite remarkable in her eyes.

"It's just so awe-inspiring," she had once said to one of her fellow weyrlings, "to watch those little dragonets meet their lifemate. The look on their faces when the hatchling impresses is so…" Animeth, who had been listening to the two humans talk, had interrupted by stating,

You _looked like you had just gotten a bone lodged in your throat. Your eyes went all big and your mouth would have dropped to the floor if it could. It was quite humorous to watch._ The young green dragon chortled to herself as she recalled the stunned expression that her rider had been wearing that day. Syetta had stuck out her tongue at her.

_How can you even remember that?_

_I remember the important things… and I take whatever else I need to recall from your head._

_Great. My dragon's using my head as a file cabinet._

_There's no need to be sarcastic, mine._

The swimming lessons progressed, and by the end of the week, Animeth was well on her way to mastering the art of treading water. Animeth took pride in this- she was not the strongest or the fastest of the greens, and to have a talent all of her own boosted her self-confidence greatly.

It was not long before the dragons were four months old. Syetta had commented that this meant that the dragonets- and most of them flat-out refused to be called hatchlings anymore- were approximately half of their adult size. Animeth found that hard to believe- surely she would grow bigger than just twice her current mass!

_It doesn't seem like being twice your size is very big right now,_ her rider had explained, _but you're actually fairly average sized for a green dragon, and look how big _they_ are when their grown up!_

_Not as big as the bronzes…_ Animeth had grumbled, but Syetta had not heard her say this as she had kept her thoughts to herself.

That same day, whilst the dragonets had their swimming lessons with Limth and her rider, the human weyrlings had gone to watch a firestone drill lead by a graduated wing of dragonriders. When they had returned that afternoon, Syetta- along with half of the other girls- looked misty-eyed and pensive.

_Mine?_ Animeth had asked, _Why are you staring off into space like that?_ The green dragon could have searched her friend's mind for the answer, but it was the end of a long day and asking her was much easier.

"The… wingleader for the Fourth Wing… he's so… wow." Interested, Animeth decided that it may be worth it to have a look inside her rider's mind after all. Syetta was experiencing a very… strange emotion. Animeth vaguely remembered that the girl had felt it during Aberoth's flight before they had been led away from the hunting grounds. It made her uneasy.

After a quick rifle through Syetta's recent memories, Animeth found the source of the odd feeling. Syetta seemed to be attracted to the leader of the group of riders who they had been watching that afternoon. _Very_ attracted.

Suddenly, the black-haired young woman smothered the emotion, and blushed furiously.

"I'm not supposed to let myself think that," she muttered to herself. Though Animeth could tell that she wasn't supposed to be listening, she did anyway. "…has a bad effect on Animeth." Well, it _had_ made her feel uncomfortable.

_Just don't do it again, mine._ Animeth said forgivingly. Syetta blushed, though Animeth couldn't think of why.

Apart from that incident, the day progressed as usual until the late afternoon. Syetta was at a lecture, and Animeth was confined to the barracks. She had three other dragonets- blue Shipoth and greens Trixeth and Iminth- to keep her company, though the females were talking to each other- and Animeth didn't think that she was to be included in their conversation- and Shipoth was fast asleep. With nothing to entertain her, Animeth decided to curl up into a ball and follow Shipoth's lead.

She woke up about an hour later and saw that the greens had also followed suite, and were both snoozing on their respective couches. The blue had had yet to wake up. Animeth tried to go back to sleep, but was unable to. There was still a candlemark or so until Syetta would be back, and none of her 'companions' were showing any signs of waking up. It seemed that it would be a very long and boring day…

Animeth would have none of that. Having almost forgotten what had happened the last time that she had avoided nap time, the young forest green dragonet got to her paws and padded straight out of the room.

Though she was not usually one to take pleasure in disobeying orders, Animeth found breaking the rules and wandering off on her own to be great fun- unfortunately, her amusement caught the attention of her rider.

_What're you doing, Animeth?_ Syetta inquired. The dragonet blinked and steeled her mind so that the girl would not find out.

_Nothing, _she lied,_ I was just giggling at Shipoth. He has passed gas in his sleep._

_Alright, mine._

Once she felt the human's awareness turn back to the lecture, Animeth's eyes flashed green with excitement, and she walked down the empty corridor, through an open door, and out into one of the vacant hallways of the weyr.

It was time to explore.

* * *

I'm really sorry if the format is screwed up- blame the website, not me! 


	8. And So the Fear Lives On

**Chapter 8- And So the Fear Lives On**

**Disclaimer: **The concept of the Dragonriders of Pern belongs to Anne McCaffery.

-

Knowing that she would be most likely caught if she dared to go too far away from the weyrling barracks, Animeth dashed through the first open door that she came across, which lead to the guard's quarters. She found that they looked almost exactly like the weyrling barracks, expect that there were many more beds crammed into a smaller amount of space, and there were no stone couches, as the guards lacked the need for them, having no dragons to call their own. The dragonet pitied them. To be without a lifemate! She almost shuddered at the thought.

Animeth crept into the large room, her nostrils flaring slightly as they detected the stench of spilled k'lah, old sweat, and, disgustingly enough, stale urine. Animeth shook her head in revulsion and breathed through her mouth.

Searching for something to occupy herself with, Animeth investigated a wooden chest that someone had left unopened. She nudged the objects that she found inside with her snout, sorting through its absent owner's belongings.

Animeth accidentally tore a tunic and punctured a wineskin with her teeth. The liquid it contained sprayed out of the hole she had made, into the dragonet's mouth. She quickly withdrew her head from the timber box and spat the substance out, repulsed by the taste. The wine leaked onto the bottom of the chest, dampening the other items that it contained. Animeth wandered away, indifferent.

Animeth shuffled around the room for a little while longer, sniffing something here and prodding something there, but she didn't find anything of great interest. With a defeated sigh, the green dragon crept from the room and back out into the corridor… only to realise that she could not remember how to get back to her own quarters. A few faint specks of red glittered in her eyes.

She was stealthily filing through Syetta's memories of the weyr's layout, hoping that she could count on her rider's recollections, when she suddenly heard the sound of tiny wings beating erratically from inside of the room she had just exited. Blinking, Animeth realised that a fire-lizard had just appeared in the room that she had just left.

Animeth had never seen a fire-lizard before. She was not going to miss out on the chance to meet one. She poked her little, forest green head into the room, her blue eyes alight with child-like curiosity.

The fire-lizard was tiny, with a scarred brown hide and bulging, anxious-looking eyes that were whirling much faster than Animeth would have thought possible. Stress and shame were rolling of him in wares. He clutched a small bottle in his claws- Animeth was too far away to see what it contained.

Cautious, Animeth approached the tense little creature. He reeled around to face her, his expression terrified.

_Don't tell mine,_ he begged. _Don't tell him Wherry got lost. Delivered bottle late. So sorry. So sorry._ Animeth just stared at him for a moment, trying to guess who Wherry was, before she realised that the fire-lizard was referring to himself.

_Fire-lizards do not get lost_! She replied, baffled. Syetta had once told her that her miniature cousins had an excellent sense of direction.

_Did,_ the little brown lamented, still speaking in third person. _Still not used to coming here. _Betweened_ to old home. Spent days trying to remember what weyr looked like, and the scary man told me to take bottle to mine immediately. Mine will be angry. _Animeth continued to watch him worry and fret, her bewilderment intensifying. She had never heard of a fire-lizard being so concerned about their human- most of them were very devoted, but it was rare to see a sight such as this.

Had Animeth been more observant, she may have labelled the lizard's strangeness as the result of an accident which had obviously befallen him at some time- the scars on his brown hide made it clear that something had happened to him at one point, and it was all too possible that the little animal had sustained injuries or trauma which had altered the way his mind worked. But Animeth was not the type of creature who took notice of such things, so she simply concluded that there was something wrong with the lizard's head and left it at that.

The mystery of the inner workings of the lizard's mind aside, Animeth decided to help the creature out, if only to soothe her boredom.

_Perhaps if you left the bottle here he would not notice you were late._ She suggested lightly. The fire lizard hovered in mid air, considering it.

_Okay,_ he answered nervously, _hope you are right._ He dashed over to the cot in the corner, which was slightly messier than the others, dropped the bottle onto the straw mattress and chirped triumphantly, confident that he had evaded trouble.

He sent Animeth a wave of gracious emotion and flitted _between_ without another word. The green dragon stared at the empty space where he had been hovering for a moment, then broke out of her trance and, to stave off tedium, went to investigate the little bottle the fire-lizard had left behind. It was lying on the scratchy mattress, inconspicuous and unexciting.

_Silly little brother, _Animeth chortled. _Why worry about something so trivial?_ Her eyes shone silver with curiosity as she lifted a foreleg and prodded the glass container with a claw. The black, sludgy liquid swilled around inside it.

Animeth tilted her head to one side and sniffed the bottle tentatively, but then pulled away abruptly as the scent of smoke and rot hit her sensitive nose like a stone wall- but not just because of the smell.

A powerful, appalling sense of dread was building up inside of her. She hissed softly and backed away in fear, though she wasn't sure why.

_Bad… wrong…_

Animeth knew that the goo was a horrible, terrible thing. She wasn't certain about how she was so sure- the instinct that told her so was akin to the one that told her that the other dragons were her family and that thread was the enemy. Ancient knowledge that was hardwired into her mind.

She needed to get out. To escape the… the _stuff_ and put as much distance between her and it as possible. Animeth slunk towards the door, spitting and snarling slightly in the bottle's direction. Hatred almost as potent as the loathing she had for thread rose from inside of her, and she suddenly felt the urge to destroy the container's contents, but she didn't want to _touch_ it.

Such strong emotions did not go unheeded by Syetta. As Animeth dropped her guard, the dragon's terror and anger slammed into the girl, and she almost cried out in surprise.

_Animeth! What's going on! _The green dragon, who was awkwardly making her way back to the weyrling barracks as fast as she could manage, told her everything. It felt so good to be able to tell hers of her fears, because she was sure that her Syetta could make them go away.

Expect she couldn't. Syetta simply gave her directions to the barracks, and once her dragon was safe in their room, she tried to her to forget the incident, fearing the trouble they would get into if it was discovered that Animeth had been in the guard's barracks.

_It was nothing. Probably just some weird type of wine, Animeth. Don't fret. _The dragon would not let her worries go, however.

_It was wrong, mine! It needs to be destroyed!_

Syetta paused, for Animeth's fear was making her uneasy, but she was confident that her lifemate was just being silly, and scared that if they admitted that Animeth had gone wandering and she had not stopped her, they would both be punished.

_It was just wine, Animeth, just really stinky wine. Maybe the guards were just playing pranks on each other or something…Nothing to worry about. Just go back to sleep. Class ends in a few minuets, and then I'll come and see you. Don't worry, Animeth. You'll forget about it soon._

But she wouldn't forget, because Syetta knew about it now, and for all her claims that the matter of the strange liquid was nothing to worry about, Animeth's terror had shaken her, and if she herself couldn't let the memory fade from her mind, it would also stay in Animeth's.

And so they fear lived on…


End file.
